As Gov. Gretchen Whitmer pledges to make Michigan the first state to ban flavored e-cigarettes, a national vaping association says businesses will "not go down without a fight."

Sweet and fruity vape flavors target youth, Whitmer said in a news release, and she aims to protect young people from possible harmful effects of nicotine vaping products.

The Democratic governor ordered the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services to issue emergency rules banning retail and online sales of flavored vapes, the release said. The rules will also prohibit "misleading marketing" of vapes as "clean," harmless or safer than regular cigarettes, according to the release.

The rules will be filed within weeks, Whitmer spokeswoman Tiffany Brown said in an email. They immediately take effect at that time, and from then businesses will have 30 days to sell off their products and comply.

The ban lasts six months and can be re-upped for another six months. The Michigan health department plans to make permanent rules for when the temporary ban expires.

"As governor, my number one priority is keeping our kids safe," Whitmer said in the release. "And right now, companies selling vaping products are using candy flavors to hook children on nicotine and misleading claims to promote the belief that these products are safe. That ends today. Our kids deserve leaders who are going to fight to protect them. These bold steps will finally put an end to these irresponsible and deceptive practices and protect Michiganders' public health."

Blow to industry

The rules would be a blow to the retail industry that has grown up around e-cigarettes, with vape shops popping up in seemingly every town over the past several years.

The industry has often pitched itself as an alternative that can help smokers quit. But vapes have also been wildly popular among teenagers, with some high schoolers referring to school bathrooms as "Juul rooms" after the most popular vape brand.

The nonprofit American Vaping Association expects legal challenges to the move and said it would support them, with the association's president calling Whitmer's ban a "shameless attempt at backdoor prohibition" that will "create a massive, multi-million dollar black market."

It will "close down several hundred Michigan small businesses and could send tens of thousands of ex-smokers back to deadly combustible cigarettes," association President Gregory Conley said in a statement. "These businesses and their customers will not go down without a fight. We look forward to supporting the lawsuits that now appear necessary to protect the right of adults to access these harm reduction products."

He said rules governing e-cigarettes should be passed by the legislative branch, not "unilaterally" made by the executive.

Wild Bill's Tobacco, a Troy-based retailer with more than 75 locations according to its website, made a statement on its Facebook page directing customers to call Whitmer's office and urge her to take back the order. Wild Bill's sells vapes in addition to traditional tobacco products, and also operates Mr. Vapor shops that sell e-cigarettes and "e-juice" in more than 200 flavors.

"Just the fact that they're using this whole 'selling to minors' flavor thing is quite ridiculous ... In the vape community, I mean, nobody's really selling to kids, at least from what I know of around here," said Kilian Pauls, manager of Detroit Vapor Shop, which has locations in Plymouth and Wixom. "I sell to 80-year-old women and tons of older guys, and they all love their flavored stuff ..."

Health concerns

Michigan health officials said last week that they were investigating six cases of breathing illnesses that may be linked to vaping. As of Aug. 23, more than 200 possible cases of severe respiratory disease associated with e-cigarette use had been reported in 23 states, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services said. Illinois reported one death.

Vape is a colloquial term for an e-cigarette or other electronic smoking device in which the user inhales vapor. They usually contain nicotine, and sometimes have flavors such as bubble gum, mint or fruit. The Michigan health department said e-cigarette and/or vape users should immediately seek medical attention if they develop symptoms such as shortness of breath, chest pain, cough, fever and/or nausea and vomiting.

Twenty-one percent of high school seniors reported using nicotine vapes in the past 30 days, according to a 2018 University of Michigan Monitoring the Future survey cited by the National Institute on Drug Abuse. That's nearly double the 11 percent reported in 2017. And nearly 11 percent of eighth-graders said they had vaped nicotine in the past year, according to the survey.

Nancy Brown, CEO of the American Heart Association, endorsed the ban in the release.

"In the absence of robust regulation by the Food and Drug Administration, we know shockingly little about the health impact of e-cigarettes being widely marketed to youth and adults," Brown said in the release. "The recent outbreak of respiratory illnesses associated with e-cigarette use has only added to the uncertainty and increased the need for immediate action."

The Detroit-based Karmanos Cancer Institute also voiced support for the ban in a Wednesday news release, saying the institute believes citizens should be aware of the harmful health risks and cautioned about the use of flavored e-cigarettes.

"We support and encourage Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and the Michigan State Legislature to act to protect Michigan residents," the release said. "Given the links to cancer risk that were ultimately proven from tobacco products, we believe e-cigarettes and vaping should be avoided."

Others that have come out in support include the Michigan League for Public Policy, American Academy of Pediatrics, American Academy of Pediatrics Michigan Chapter, American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network and American Heart Association.

The FDA maintains that it is cracking down on e-liquid and hookah products that target youth in marketing.

Also Wednesday, Whitmer ordered the Michigan Department of Transportation to more thoroughly enforce an existing ban on billboard advertising for vape products.

She signed bills in June making it illegal to sell electronic cigarette products to minors.

—Editor's note: This article has been corrected to reflect that the ban will not go into effect for several weeks.